Teen buried alive by North Carolina sand dune

The 17-year-old teen was visiting from Chesapeake, Virginia

A 17-year-old boy was buried alive under several feet of sand after the walls of a hole and a dune collapsed on him on a North Carolina beach.

The unidentified teen, who had been visiting Cape Hatteras National Seashore near Frisco from Chesapeake, Virginia, became trapped in a hole on Saturday (6 May). Seashore rangers responded to the scene around 2pm after receiving several 911 calls in connection with the incident, the National Park Service said.

“Prior to arriving on scene, family and friends went looking for the teenager and found him buried under several feet of sand, apparently caused by portions of the adjacent dune collapsing into the hole,” the statement read.

Family members at the scene and park rangers performed CPR on the teen without success. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators determined that a hole had been dug in a back-dune area “behind the primary dune and not visible from the beachfront,” according to the News & Observer. It is unclear who dug the hole.

“Cape Hatteras National Seashore offers our condolences to his family and friends,” David Hallac, a superintendent at National Parks of Eastern North Carolina, said.

“We urge visitors not to dig deep holes on the beach due to the danger they present to beachgoers and emergency response staff.”